Brown Pelican
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Pelecanidae Genus: Pelecanus Species: P. occidentalis
Binomial name
Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766

The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is 106-137 cm (42-54 in) in length, weighs from 2.75 to 5.5 kg (6-12 lbs) and has a wingspan from 1.83 to 2.5 m (6 to 8.2 ft). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1419x960, 250 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pelican Brown Pelican User:Fir0002/Natures pics Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Brown pelican Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/September... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... Species Pelecanus occidentalis Pelecanus thagus Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Pelecanus onocrotalus Pelecanus crispus Pelecanus rufescens Pelecanus philippensis Pelecanus conspicillatus A pelican is any of several very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae. ... Species Pelecanus occidentalis Pelecanus thagus Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Pelecanus onocrotalis Pelecanus crispus Pelecanus rufescens Pelecanus philippensis Pelecanus conspicillatus A pelican is any of several very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae. ... Species Pelecanus occidentalis Pelecanus thagus Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Pelecanus onocrotalis Pelecanus crispus Pelecanus rufescens Pelecanus philippensis Pelecanus conspicillatus A pelican is any of several very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Species Pelecanus occidentalis Pelecanus thagus Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Pelecanus onocrotalus Pelecanus crispus Pelecanus rufescens Pelecanus philippensis Pelecanus conspicillatus A pelican is any of several very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae. ...

It lives strictly on coasts from Washington and Virginia to the mouth of the Amazon River. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. After nesting, North American birds move in flocks further north along the coasts, returning to warmer waters for winter. Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,793 sq mi (110,862 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 7. ... This article is about the river. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Flock of Barnacle Geese during autumn migration Many species of birds undertake seasonal journeys of various lengths, a phenomenon known as Bird migration. ...

This bird is distinguished from the American White Pelican by its brown body and its habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to co-operative fishing from the surface. It eats mainly herring-like fish. Groups of Brown Pelicans often travel in single file, flying low over the water's surface. “Aves” redirects here. ... Binomial name Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin, 1789 The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a very large (50–70) white bird with black wing tips and an enormous orange bill. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Species Clupea alba Clupea bentincki Clupea caspiopontica Clupea chrysotaenia Clupea elongata Clupea halec Clupea harengus Clupea inermis Clupea leachii Clupea lineolata Clupea minima Clupea mirabilis Clupea pallasii Clupea sardinacaroli Clupea sulcata Herrings are small oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Atlantic...

The nest location varies from a simple scrape on the ground on an island to a bulky stick nest in a low tree. These birds nest in colonies, usually on islands.

Pesticides like DDT and dieldrin threatened its future in the southeast United States and California in the early 1970s. Pesticides also threatened the pelican population in Florida in this period. A research group from the University of Tampa headed by Dr. Ralph Schreiber conducted research in the Tampa Bay/St Petersburg area and found that DDT caused the pelican eggshells to be overly-thin and incapable of supporting the embryo to maturity. As a result of this research, DDT usage was eliminated in Florida and the rest of the country. DDT or Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane is the first modern pesticide and is arguably the best known organic pesticide. ... Dieldrin is a chlorinated hydrocarbon originally produced by Bayer AG as an insecticide. ... Official language(s) English Capital  Sacramento Largest city  Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The University of Tampa, or UT, is a private, co-educational university in downtown Tampa, Florida. ...

The Brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana. Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city Baton Rouge [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W...

Along with the American White Pelican, the Brown Pelican is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Under United States Code Title 16, Chapter 7, Subchapter II, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is the United States portion of four covenants between the U.S. and four other nations (Canada, Mexico, Japan and Russia) making it unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell birds...

There are four subspecies:

• P. o. californicus (California Brown Pelican)
• P. o. carolinensis (Eastern Brown Pelican)
• P. o. occidentalis (Caribbean Brown Pelican)
• P. o. thagus (Galapagos Brown Pelican)

The Peruvian Pelican, Pelecanus thagus, used to be considered a subspecies of the Brown Pelican (P. o. thagus). However, due to its well-defined allopatry and because it is much larger and heavier than its relatives, it was reclassified as a separate species. Binomial name Pelecanus thagus Molina, 1782 The Peruvian Pelican (Pelecanus thagus) is a member of the pelican family. ... Allopatric speciation, also known as geographic speciation, occurs when populations physically isolated by an extrinsic barrier evolve intrinsic (genetic) reproductive isolation such that if the barrier between the populations breaks down, individuals of the two populations can no longer interbreed. ...

References

• Pelecanus occidentalis (TSN 174685). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on September 25, 2006.
• BirdLife International (2006). Pelecanus occidentalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.

Please note that the ITIS system URL has changed (25 September 2006). ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

• http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/intrnltr/mbta/mbtandx.html List of birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
• Brown Pelican videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Field Guide Page on Flickr

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Pelecanus occidentalis

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

Gallery

			Pelicans flock flying over Havana Bay area. Brown Pelican Downloaded from Photos and Pictures - Public Domain - Royalty Free License: This image is public domain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1468x516, 151 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2072x1381, 2210 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Pelican Seabird Brown Pelican User:JHMM13/Current2 Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital... The Pelicans is a Finnish ice hockey team playing in SM-liiga based at Lahden jäähalli (capacity 5098), Lahti. ... Nickname: Position of Havana in Cuba Coordinates: Country Cuba Province Ciudad de La Habana Founded 1515 Government  - Mayor Juan Contino Aslán Area  - City 721. ...
	Nonbreeding adult at a dangerous bend amid a mangrove forest Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1535 KB) en: Two brown pelicans rest on wooden posts in the Ponce Inlet harbor near Ponce Inlet, Florida. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1360, 2681 KB) Summary Taken by Wing-Chi Poon on 5th December 2005 at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo, Florida, USA. This photo shows a nonbreeding adult brown pelican at a dangerous bend sign amid a mangrove forest. ...